All-graduate nursing supported by NHS

NHS Employers has supported the view that the minimum standard for all nurse pre-registration training should be a degree.

This comes in light of a consultation put forward by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and Department of Health regarding the future of pre- and post-registration, reports Nursing Times.

NHS Employers is in agreement with the Royal College of Nursing over the issue, but not with Unison which feels that the move would encourage elitism in the industry, says the report.

The group also feels that all nurses should possess generalist skills and that they should acquire at least a third of their experience through community-based practice.

Managers also gave their approval to proposals for post-registration training along five career routes, which they feel will allow nurses to develop flexible skills as well as widen their options for community work.

Foluke Ajayi, head of NHS Careers and workforce supply at NHS Employers, said: "Employers were very clear about how pre- and post-registration nursing should develop in the future and we had a consensus on many of the big issues."